Lakers don't strike it rich in NBA lottery, drop from sixth to seventh

Jim Buss, Jerry West

Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

Jim Buss, part-owner and executive vice president of basketball operations of the Lakers, speaks with Lakers great Jerry West, left, during the NBA draft combine in Chicago on Thursday. Things didn't go the Lakers way in Tuesday's NBA draft lottery.

Jim Buss, part-owner and executive vice president of basketball operations of the Lakers, speaks with Lakers great Jerry West, left, during the NBA draft combine in Chicago on Thursday. Things didn't go the Lakers way in Tuesday's NBA draft lottery. (Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press)

The Lakers declined immediate comment, but Boston Celtics executive Danny Ainge, whose team will pick sixth, told reporters he didn't think there was anyone who would "come in and change the face of our franchise."

Franchise-changer or not, this is an important pick for the Lakers to nail at the June 26 draft. They don't have a second-round pick, which would have been 36th overall, because of the Steve Nash trade and don't have a first-rounder next year because of the Nash deal.

The injury-dogged Lakers got only six games out of Kobe Bryant this season and 15 from Nash on the way to a 27-55 record that was the sixth worst in the league.

They can forget about taking anyone from the draft's consensus top three: Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins of Kansas, and Duke's Jabari Parker.

More likely, they will closely study over the next few weeks Kentucky power forward Julius Randle, Indiana power forward Noah Vonleh, Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart and Arizona power forward Aaron Gordon.

Each has his question marks: Randle needs to improve his defense; Vonleh had great measurements at the draft combine but didn't always excel on the court at Indiana; Smart needs to shoot better from long distance; and Gordon has athleticism but is raw outside of the paint.

Australian point guard Dante Exum, who shares the same agent as Bryant, is expected to be gone before the Lakers pick.

Not even bobblehead dolls of Chick Hearn and Jerry Buss could help James Worthy on Tuesday. Worthy, the Lakers' last No. 1 overall pick (in 1982), was the team's representative at the lottery in New York.

The Lakers had a 6.3% chance to win the top spot, 7.1% to get the second pick and 8.1% to win the third selection.

They had a 43.9% chance at staying at No. 6, which suddenly looked good when it was initially revealed Cleveland jumped up from ninth to an unspecified destination in the top three. The Cavaliers also won the first pick in last year's draft, taking forward Anthony Bennett, who averaged only 12.8 minutes as a rookie.

"It seems surreal," Cavaliers executive Jeff Cohen said.

Before the first ping-pong ball was even pulled, there was a 30.5% chance the Lakers would fall to seventh.

It actually could have been worse. There was a 4% chance of their dropping to eighth and a 0.1% chance of sliding to ninth.

Milwaukee finished with the league's worst record (15-67) but slid from first to second thanks to Cleveland's lucky jump. Philadelphia had the second-worst record and endured a 26-game losing streak but fell to third in the lottery.

The Lakers haven't kept their first-round pick since taking Javaris Crittenton at No. 19 in 2007. Their last lottery pick was Andrew Bynum, taken 10th overall in 2005.

The recent story of Chicago's Jackie Robinson West Little League team, their U.S. title taken away because some of their players lived outside the district they represented, struck a nerve with Phil Hart.